West Virginia Democrat. [volume] (Charles Town, W. Va.) 1885-1890, 1887-09-09
HARPER's FERRY LETTER.
HARpER's FERRY, Sept. 5.

Harper's Ferry of to-day, with this
left out, would be-to quote a'trite
phrase-Hamlet without the Prince
of Denmark. Besides, as the old
saying is, "a good feast requires nc
apology" and as the prosperity Of
our village affects that of all Jefer-
son county as well as the neighbor-
ing portions of Virginia and Mary
land, we know OF no topic more in
teresting to your readers. You re-
member, however, that lately you
have curtailed our wind and limited
us to narrow bounds, and therefore,
without entering into details, we
will sum up by saying that the work
goes bravely on and is fast APP
preaching the desired consumma-
ton.
The melancholy days are coming
on, and indeed one of them has ar
rived-Black Monday-the day OF
reopening the schools-and, as we
write, troops of detected urchins
pass along with slow, slouching
gait very different from the bound
ing elastic step of the same on clos
ing day three months ago. Verify
they boast not themselves while they
GRID on their harness as they will
when they put it off nine months
hence. The city people are taking
wing, and the surrounding hills
where, few days ago, they crowded
thick as leaves in Vallumbrosa or
children round an Irishman's shan
tv, are abandoned save by q few
whom freedom from business en-
gagements and depth of purse ena-
bic to prolong the luxury of our
pure air and unrivaled scenery.
THEY, too, will soon be gone and,
like "sweet Auburn, loveliest village
of the plain" Harper's Ferry will be
deserted, with this marked differ
ence, that the former had an in
spired idiot-as DR.. Johnson called
poor Goldsmith-to sing its praises,
while the latter-the worthier of the
two-depends at present for fame on
4 very prosaic country-schoolmas-
ter. No one will miss the presence
of the strangers more sensibly than
your correspondent, for to the hustle
and stir of the visiting season we
owe much of the pabulum on which
our fancy has fed while inditing the
series of absurdities with which we
have tired the patience of your read
ers this summer. There is then
some reason TO fear that for dearth
of light material we might endeavor
to be serious and rashly launch into
some subject Of practical interest
and incur the anger of some if not
all the factions that are spelling for
the great fight of next year. 1t is q
hard choice, but though it is not
creditable to our valor, we prefer
the contempt due to our inanities to
the awful wrath that little good
sense would be sure to evoke. BE
lieve me that he has lived well who
has hidden himself WE'LL" said 4
great Roman poet nineteen centu-
ries ago, and as we believe the same
is as true to-day as it was then, we
will stick to our nonsense as long as
we can find sufficient supply of it,
and safe in our obscurity we will
leave the important things of cur
rent history to "simpleton sages and
reasoning fools" who love the strife
and turmoil of controversy.
Great as has been the number of
visitors accommodated here this
summer, it is believed that quite as
many have been disappointed in OBJ
tanning entertainment, and it is said
that forty applicants were refused
on one day for want of room by one
boarding, house proprietor. This is
exciting a bnilding boom. and we
hear of great preparations for the
erection of cottages on the Heights
of Bolivar, Loudoun and Maryland.
A waggish Irishman of Washington
wrote to boarding master for &C
commodation for A MILE OF FAMILY
and, on being informed in spirit
of fun that he could be accommodate
ted, presented himself one day at the
hotel with q flock of eight. His
name is Patrick Furlong, and he
claims that eight furlongs will make
a mile any day. By the way he
is fine, genial fellow, and he has
made so many friends here that we
will manage to lodge and feed him,
self and family if they should grow
to league, which he says himself
is within the probabilities.
The belief is prevalent that Har-
per's Ferry will become one of the
great favorite summer resorts, and
a day or two ago we heard of a con-
templated agency for the sale of
building-sites at this point. 1t is
said, indeed, that syndicate, with
this object in view, has already
rented an office of Mr.. Robert Cava-
lier. No one can tell what a day
will produce as Mrs. Day said when
she presented her lord and master
with tripTets, and on the same occa-
sion we heard the astounding news
that an enterprising gentleman of q
neighboring State was about to es-
tablish.a bank at the place. This
latter undertaking will be great